Mala Noche

First seen in the UK at the LLGFF in 1986 and now seen as a genuinely original precursor to the New Queer Cinema of the early 90s. This is Van Sant's first film, shot in a hallucinatory blend of shimmering black and white 16mm and colour.

It's the tale of a young gay shop assistant who becomes infatuated with a young Mexican who speaks no English. It seems to announce many themes which would resurface in Van Sant's work over the years. Now available in a newly restored print, it is an intriguing account of desire between young men and its consequences.

By turns powerfully erotic and bleak it has a heart-warming feeling of authenticity, shot in and around Van Sant's then newly adopted home of Portland, Oregon.

Brian Robinson